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Content industries welcome G8 commitments
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 31 May 2011
Representatives from 16 globally-focused content industry trade bodies have welcomed commitments made at the G8 Summit in France last week regards protecting intellectual property rights.
In a joint statement signed by film, publishing, acting and music trade bodies, including Alison Wenham from the Association Of Independent Music, Frances Moore of the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, and the Musician’s Union’s John Smith (in his guise as President of the International Federation Of Musicians), the collective content industries said: “As representatives of the creative sector we welcome the commitment by the G8 leaders in Deauville to steps that will ensure a thriving digital environment guided by the rule of law”.
They continued: “We welcome the G8 Summit’s recognition of the need for laws and frameworks leading to improved [copyright] enforcement. We also applaud its commitment to ensuring effective action against violations of intellectual property in the digital world. We share the goal of a responsible online marketplace benefitting consumers, the creators we represent and the development of legitimate commerce”.
They added: “Our sector – which includes the book, film, games, music and television industries – is a vital part of the world economy. We are a major source of cultural creation, jobs, growth and tax revenue. Every country has artists, composers, authors, performers, whose contributions to their nations’ cultural and economic wealth depend on the ability to protect their rights online as well as in the physical world. These commitments by the G8 leaders will help ensure that the creative sectors in their countries can thrive in a digital environment guided by the rule of law, with all that this means for jobs, cultural diversity and economic growth”.
Speaking specifically for the record industry, Moore at IFPI issued her own statement, saying: “The G8 summit has sent a clear and unambiguous signal about the importance of protecting intellectual property online. They recognise that if investment in creativity is to be sustained then the internet
cannot be exempt from the rule of law. We greatly welcome the political leadership of the G8 in this area and particularly the role President Sarkozy played in placing this issue at the heart of the discussions”.
Of course whether combined commitments by G8 leaders really make much difference (though any commitments made by Russia and Canada are possibly significant), and whether politician-supported measures to crack down on piracy really work anyway, is all debatable. Nevertheless, the G8 summit’s strong words on protecting IP underline that – for all the influence of Google and the tel cos – more and more governments seem set on helping copyright owners enforce their rights online.
